Two years left to go until Malaga Cathedral roof is finished

The Diocese of Malaga has announced a date for the completion of Malaga Cathedral's gable roof, aimed at preventing leaks in the future. After a year of work, 30% of the plan has been completed so far. The work is expected to be over by the middle or end of 2027.

Journalists were recently invite on site to see for themselves how well the work was going.

Architect Juan Manuel Sánchez La Chica said that the central area of the roof was the simplest from a construction point of view, as it repeats the same shape of the wooden trusses that are raised with a 65-metre crane. However, the work has reached a harder stage. From September onwards, it will move to the curved east end above the altar.

The main purpose of the work is to make the building waterproof and drain rainwater through new downpipes. It is following detailed plans drawn up by architect Ventura Rodríguez in 1764 which were never completed when the original project ran out of money.

For 243 years, the cathedral has had to make do with just its weaker, inner roof, which was never meant to be exposed to the elements and is now in a very bad state. The idea is to make this new, much sturdier gabled roof over it open to visitors, both outside with a viewpoint walkway and inside with a large vaulted space.

Sánchez La Chica semi-jokingly said that the cathedral's architects of the 18th century "speak to us through the stones". When Rodríguez and then Antonio Ramos designed the cathedral, they had great ambitions, which the city could not fulfil in one go. The head of the current work added that they are picking up "what was left unfinished in July 1782".

Taking things "one step at a time", the architect prefers to wait and see whether they will be able to resume construction of the famous missing south tower. At the moment, the priority is the leakage problems and then, restoring the damp ceilings inside the building itself.

There are other parts of the historic plan that were never built, for example, the original plans also included nine stone sculptures of Jesus Christ and eight saints, but this part of the project has not got funding yet. "There are things that it pains me not to finish," said the architect.

The last stage of the plan expected for 2027 includes cream and honey-coloured tiles over the new roof.

The current budget for the work is 22.5m euros, which is being paid for by the city council, the provincial authority, the Junta de Andalucía and Unicaja, among others.